TORONTO • Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook recorded 24 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds for his 34th triple-double of the National Basketball Association (NBA) season in the team's dominant 123-102 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday.
With the win, Oklahoma City extended their winning streak to four games and improved to 39-29 for the season. They are half a game away from tying the Los Angeles Clippers (40-29) for fifth place in the Western Conference.
Westbrook played a total of 28 minutes and did not see any action in the fourth quarter. This is the 12th time this season that he has recorded a triple-double in three quarters or less.
Thunder coach Billy Donovan was impressed with Westbrook and the team's performance.
"I thought we played with a high level of intensity from start to finish," he said.
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Russell Westbrook is seven triple-doubles short of Oscar Robertson's single-season record of 41, set in the 1961-62 season.
"Offensively we had 33 assists and were unselfish and we defended like we needed to and generated a lot of good shots."
Nearly half of the team's assists belonged to Westbrook.
"They're an aggressive defensive team that trap a lot and I was able to use that to my advantage and take on two people and make sure other guys got open," said the six-time All-Star.
The Raptors as a team finished with just 15 assists - one fewer than Westbrook's haul.
Raptors coach Dwane Casey said: "(Westbrook) was a one-man wrecking crew. He caused a lot of chain reactions. It starts with him. We had multiple breakdowns in terms of getting him under control because he is a great player."
Over 68 games, Westbrook has averaged 31.7 points, 10.5 rebounds and 10.4 assists.
He is on track to become the second player to average a triple-double in a season and tie the single-season record of 41 triple-doubles. Both records were set by Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson in the 1961-62 season.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, XINHUA
